The official new car sales figures for September 2019 have been divulged by the FCAI, confirming a 6.9 per cent drop – a decrease of 6520 sales – compared to September 2018.
Thus far in 2019, overall Australian sales are down by 7.9 per cent, which is a drop of 69,541 vehicles for the nine months to September, and the FCAI’s chief executive, Tony Weber, suggests that part of the reason could be due to stricter lending regulations.
“The question has to be asked – are these results telling us we have made it too difficult for people to finance basic purchases in today’s Australia?”
The September 2019 drop in sales is the 18th consecutive month that Australian new car sales have decreased. SUVs present a small ray of light, with a 1.1 per cent lift (41,861 units), while the passenger car (24,893 units) and ute (18,257 units) segments dropped by 18.3 and 5.4 per cent respectively.
“It is clear the slower sales rate the market is experiencing is in line with the broader economic environment in Australia,” said Weber.
Toyota remains Australia’s favourite new car brand with 15,166 sales, giving it a 17.2 per cent market share. Second place was Mitsubishi (8990, 10.2%), followed by Mazda (8168, 9.3%), Hyundai (7245, 8.2%) and Kia (5128, 5.8%).
The most popular car in Oz for September 2019 was the Toyota HiLux (3364), followed by the Ford Ranger (3116) and Mitsubishi Triton (3001), as utes dominated the top three.
Outside of the top 10, strong performing brands to increase sales on September 2018 included BMW (+19.4%), Ferrari (+53.% YOY) and Lexus (21.3%), while Volvo continued its strong run of results in 2019, up 3.7%.
Top 10 models
Toyota HiLux – 3364
Ford Ranger – 3116
Mitsubishi Triton – 3001
Hyundai i30 – 2447
Mitsubishi ASX – 2419
Mazda CX-5– 2355
Toyota Corolla – 2219
Kia Cerato – 2022
Nissan X-TRAIL – 1769
Mitsubishi Outlander– 1731
Top 10 brands
Toyota – 15166
Mitsubishi – 8990
Mazda – 8168
Hyundai – 7245
Kia – 5128
Ford – 4783
Nissan – 4651
Volkswagen – 3816
Subaru -3505
Honda – 3404
Source: FCAI VFACTS, September 2019